It's Complicated
by Princess Jewels
Summary: Basically a spin-off of The Bachelor...I've never watched it, but I know basically what it's about. Pegasus's niece is a successful romance novelist who's life revolves around writing, when she gets chosen to be one of Kaiba's bachelorettes, will past rivalries keep a tiny mutual attraction from blossoming into a steamy romance? SetoxOC
1. The Ball

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**_

_**Note: In this Seto is now 23**_

**Name: **Krystal Crawford-McKinley**  
Better Known As: **K.C. McKinley**  
Age: **23**  
Hair: **Brown**  
Eyes: **Brown**  
Height: **5'4"

* * *

_Sitting here in front of the beast that was the man that I was madly in love with, I now had to question the meaning of life and death._

"And that's where you're going to leave it?" Akai asked, his usually happy demeanor now that of concern, "You're just going just going to leave the first book of your new series with a cliffhanger?"

"Yes," I replied flatly, "It will leave my fans wanting more."

"The fan mail is going to be horrible," he said, setting the manuscript on the kitchen table.

"You'll manage, you always do," I said.

"Krystal…you've never done a cliffhanger as drastic as this…"

"It will be fine, don't worry so much."

"Easy for you to say."

"What was that envelope you were fiddling with earlier?" I questioned trying to change the subject. Akai was a wonderful manager, but he could worry _way_ too much at times; but even through his worry I could see a smile creep across his face at the mention of that envelope.

"As one of Domino City's most eligible bachelorettes, you have been invited to-" he started only to be cut off by me.

"No," I said sternly, "Whatever it is, no." I headed out of the kitchen, but I heard him following me.

"This is an invitation to a ball to win a chance to go on a date-."

"No…"

"With Seto Kaiba…"

I looked at him and burst out laughing. "You're kidding right?"

"No…" he replied.

"It's pointless for me to go Akai. Even if I wanted to win, he wouldn't choose me," I said plopping down on the couch, "I'm Pegasus's niece, you know about the rivalry between those two."

"You're nothing like you're uncle, plus the world knows you as K.C. McKinley, and not as a Crawford," he said, trying his best to convince me to go, "I really doubt your family history will matter."

"It matters…trust me."

"Too bad, I already RSVPed you."

"You what?!"

"I knew you wouldn't want to go, but I know you too well and knew that if there was an obligation you would go."

"Akai!"

"Just go."

"When is it?"

"Tonight."

"You will regret this."

-Later-

I sat at a table and looked around; there were nineteen other bachelorettes in attendance. There were a couple of models, a fashion designer, three or four heiresses to major corporations, and a few others whom I did not recognize.

'_Well this is exciting,'_ I thought scanning the room, _'Can't wait to tell Akai how exciting this ball was.'_

SETO'S POV

"I can't believe you're making me do this," I said to Mokuba as we stood looking at all the bachelorettes.

"Seto…as your brother I think you should have a more meaningful relationship than the few one night stands that you've had," he replied, "I mean, you're 23 and number one on Domino's most eligible bachelors list, and you can't be there forever…and I don't want to see you there."

"I'm running a company," I retorted sternly, "I'll be on that list for as long as I want."

"That's sad bro…that is really sad," he said shaking his head.

"I don't care…I don't want to be a part of your little version of The Bachelor," I stated.

"Too late," he said, pushing me towards a small group of bachelorettes.

I looked over my shoulder and glared at him; he was going to pay for this. I shouldn't have to justify why I'm single, nor should I have to be pushed into a 'meaningful' relationship…I have too much work for all the romance crap that comes with a serious relationship. But now that I was surrounded by these women…I needed to at least talk to them.

-A Couple Hours Later-

"And when I got back here from Paris today I was really surprised at how much things have changed in just two years…" one of the girls was talking my ear off about her two year fashion designing escapade in Paris, and trust me when I say, her voice wasn't the greatest to listen to.

I let the chatter of the other people drown out her voice and as I scanned the room for hopefully someone else to talk to; my attention was caught by a girl sitting not far from where I was, looking bored as she seemed to be doodling on a napkin.

"Excuse me," I said, standing up and leaving the now disappointed girl behind me. As I got closer to the girl who was doodling on her napkin, I could see that her eyes, like her hair, was brown…and the concentration her eyes even for that little doodle, matched that of a duelist's.

"Bored are we?" I asked once I reached the table.

KRYSTAL'S POV

"Bored are we?" someone asked.

I looked up from the doodle on my napkin and saw none other than Seto Kaiba standing in front of me, dressed in a finely pressed business suit (we all know the one).

"Good evening Mr. Kaiba," I said standing up, "I'm guessing you finished talking to all the other bachelorettes and now it's my turn?"

"I finished talking to a few," he replied, not getting that I was joking.

'_Good God, this man has no sense of humor,'_ I thought, _'This is like a giant job interview…and now it's my turn.'_ "Hmmm…and to answer your question, yes I was slightly bored," I said, trying not to say anything sarcastic or rude, "But a pen and a napkin can do wonders to keep a person busy."

He picked the napkin off the table, and when he looked at it his expression changed from one of a polite business/gentleman, to that of a disgusted and insulted duelist. "Toon Duel Monsters…including the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon."

"They're cute and fun to draw," I said innocently. I knew how much Kaiba hated the Toon Monsters from his run ins with my uncle, but at the time I had been drawing I hadn't thought of that.

"They aren't cute…" he said sourly as he crumple the napkin up and dropped it in my wine glass that was still sitting on the table, "They're an abomination to Duel Monsters and I don't know how Pegasus could ever have thought it was appropriate to put those into the game."

I opened my mouth to justify the reasoning behind it, but then closed it. It wasn't my place to justify it, I didn't need to, and I wasn't going to out the fact that I was Pegasus's niece.

He let out an irritated sigh and mumbled something under his breath before looking like he was trying to regain his composure. "For now…we'll just forget about the Toons."

I stared at him skeptically before looking over my shoulder to see if there was anything that may have made him change so quickly, and I saw Mokuba standing there trying to act innocent, but I knew that he probably signaled to his big bro to be nice. So I looked back at Kaiba and gave a small nod. "Yeah…we'll just forget about them for now…"

"I don't think I caught your name," he said.

"Krystal Cr…" I stopped, catching myself before I could continue with that sentence, "Krystal McKinley."

"Most of the girls's names that I've gotten tonight I've heard of before, but yours doesn't ring a bell."

"That does and doesn't surprise me at the same time."

"And why would that be?"

"It surprises me that you haven't heard of me, because I have been on Domino's most eligible bachelorette list several times. But it also doesn't surprise me because I am better known as K.C. McKinley…best-selling romance novelist."

He clicked his tongue. "That's you?"

"Oh…so you have heard of me?" I questioned, highly surprised by this, "I didn't take you for a reader of romance."

"Not me…" he said, sounding slightly insulted, "Mokuba's girlfriend. She was going on about this romance covert ops book that she had been reading and she kept going on and on and on and on about it…and it's quite annoying when you're trying to work. But anyway, your name came up…well, your pen name."

"I'm sorry _her_ review of my book was so annoying," I said.

"It wasn't that she was reviewing it, it was the fact that she was doing it _in_ my office _while_ I was trying to work," he said rubbing his temples.

"Well just wait until my next book," I said.

The look of his face was priceless; I needed a camera. Seto Kaiba was worried over a book, but I think it was more the thought of the review he was going to have to listen to while he was working.

"You think that one over while you're talking to the other girls," I said with a smile, "Cause the first book of my new series…is amazing." I walked away leaving him dumbfounded, and it was worth it.

-Later-

"Ladies, if I could have your attention please," Mokuba said, standing on the stage at the end of the room, "It's been a long evening and I know a lot of you must be tired from your trips to get here, so it is time to announce the six lucky winners of round one."

'_Round one? Wait…what?'_ I thought quickly pulling the invitation out of my purse, and reading that the competition was broken into two parts.

As Mokuba started to read off the names I kinda spaced off since I figured that, because of our little spat over Toon Monsters earlier, Kaiba would not choose me, there for…I thought there was no reason to pay close attention, until…

"Krystal McKinley," I heard before a spotlight was shined right in my face. There were applause and I slowly (and reluctantly) made my way up on stage next to the other girls.

"Congratulations ladies," Mokuba said, "In two days, we will start round two."

"Wonderful…" I muttered.

_**Jewels: Okay…so that's chap 1! Probably not the greatest first chap in the world, but it gets things rolling. (They see my writin', they hatin', readin' and tryin' catch me writin' badly)…Yeeeeeeah, so I hope you liked the first chap haha**_


	2. The Bachelorettes

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

"I'm not getting out of this car," I told Akai as we sat in the limo outside the Kaiba mansion.

"You have to," he said, "You're a lucky winner, and you can't take that back…plus think of it this way; you get a vacation."

"Yeah…a vacation where I'm being watched and any of my faults will be pointed out," I said looking at him like he was completely nuts.

"Faults? What faults? You're perfect," he said.

"On any other day I would go 'aww that's so sweet' but I don't plan on winning," I said, "So today I feel that you're just saying that to get me in the mansion."

"You're completely right…now get out of the car," he said.

"I don't wanna…" I whined.

"Whining is not becoming of you," he said, reaching around me and opening the door.

"See I won't win…"

"Get out of the car."

"No."

"Get out."

"No."

"Don't make me do this the hard way."

"Don't make me laugh, you wouldn't dare try anything." He sighed and got out of the car and next thing I knew I was having to hang onto the opening of the car for dear life as he was pulling me by my ankles. "Akai! Let me go!"

"I didn't want to have to do this the hard way Krystal!" he said, "But I'm doing this for your own good."

"This is not for my own good!" I snapped, "Seto Kaiba is a cold-hearted prick and I want nothing to do with him!"

"Believe it or not, he's more compatible for you than you know! Now let go of the car this instant!" he said giving one more hard tug.

My hands slipped and I went flying right into him with a classic 'oomph'. "You're an ass, Akai," I said, standing up and moving away from him.

"You'll thank me later," he said as he grabbed my bag out of the trunk.

"I doubt that," I retorted, heading back towards the car door, but he got there first and shut the door with his foot.

"No ma'am, you need to march right towards that mansion," he said sternly.

"I should fire you for talking to me that way," I said, shocked that he said that.

"You could…but how interesting would your life really be without me?" he questioned, using a suitcase to push me towards the mansion.

"Saying as you're really my only friend…" I started realizing how sad that sounded.

Once we reached the mansion doors we were let inside and led right to the bottom of the stairs, where the other girls were standing also with someone with them to help them get settled in.

"You're late," Kaiba said, looking down at me from the top of the stairs where he was leaning against the banister looking down at all of us.

"I try to be on time next time," I said sarcastically, earning a sigh from Akai.

He scowled and looked at Mokuba who was also standing at the top of the stairs. "Now that we're all here it's time to explain the rules of the second round," Mokuba said, "As you know, for the next couple of weeks or so, you will be staying here in the Kaiba mansion…during that time, Seto will get to know you better and one by one he will eliminate who he thinks is not best suited for him."

I leaned forward and looked down at my 'competition' and I knew that it wouldn't be long before I was voted off this proverbial island, which was just fine with me. Each of the other five girls I recognized right away, and how Akai could _ever_ say I was compatible for Kaiba when I was going up against these girls…I didn't know.

The first bachelorette was Casey Lee Howard; she was a 22 year old, 6'0", blonde haired, blue eyed model from New York City. Tall, beautiful, thin…she would make the perfect 'Trophy Girlfriend' for any business man that was in the public eye on a daily basis.

The second bachelorette was Valerie Hayashi; At 23 years old, and about 5'7" with long raven black hair and bright green eyes, she would definitely be a catch for any man in Tokyo (where she's from)…the fact that she was the heiress to a major corporate accounting company, made her an even better catch for Seto Kaiba.

The third bachelorette was Akiko Kimura; being 23 years old she was the youngest fashion designer in Domino City, and to most of the bachelors in the fashion world, she was also the most beautiful. An average height of 5'8", dark brown hair and bright blue eyes…if Seto eliminated her, it wouldn't be so bad since she has a row of men waiting for the chance to go on a date with her.

The fourth bachelorette is Sarah Miller; Owner of The Miller Medical Group. Being 5'9" with red hair and green eyes wasn't the thing that everyone was impressed about…it was the fact that she was the owner of a successful corporation at only 21 years old in London, England. With her business smarts her and Seto would either work well together, or clash completely.

The fifth bachelorette was Alanna Maxwell; as the Heiress to the Maxwell Shipping Corporation, you would think that the brown haired, brown eyed, 5'6" 22 year old that had beauty and money would have all the smarts to back it up. She's known to everyone to have more money than brains…she's not stupid…but she's not…bright.

And then there's me. I'm the shortest one of the group at 5'4", brown hair and brown eyes, and I'm 23 years old. I never considered myself to be a beauty among beauties and I never had guys throwing themselves at me. And I was a writer; out of all the heiresses and models and singers and all the famous people at the ball…he chose a writer. I may be a best seller, but Seto Kaiba and a writer…how does that sound to you? Especially a romance novelist; I spent my days creating stories of love, affection, and the thought of a strong handsome man sweeping a woman off her feet. While he spent his days in his office being a self-centered prick (it wasn't a secret that he was a cold-hearted bastard).

"Since we're all here…" Kaiba started, sounding unamused by all of this, "There are some basic…ground rules we need to lay."

'_Of course,'_ I thought, curling my lip, _'He has to be in charge of everything.'_

"During the day I will be working, I have a company to run; so that means I will either be in my office at KaibaCorp. or in my office here. While I am working, do not try to contact and/or interrupt me…that will lead to immediate elimination," he continued.

A smirk crossed my face. Immediate elimination? It was perfect…all I had to do was disturb Kaiba at all.

My joy was short lived though…I could feel Akai's eyes on me and I looked and saw him with his arms crossed looking down at me with that 'you do it and you're dead' look.

"Second…you have free roam of the mansion, but there are rooms that are locked. _Do not_ try and go in those rooms," he said, "And finally, if you have complaints…talk to Mokuba."

And with that, Mr. High-and-Mighty turned and left; you could obviously tell that he wanted nothing to do with any of this…but he was stuck doing it, probably because of Mokuba.

Mokuba gave a shake of his head and then looked at all of us. "Well, as you know I as well have work at Kaiba Corp, so Roland here will show you to your rooms and let you get settled…and then you may explore." He went to leave and then back tracked. "Dinner will be at six." He finally left and Roland led us all to our rooms.

"I prefer my room…" I said looking around as Akai started opening my suitcases, "I would just leave my stuff in there….I won't be here long."

"And I am sure you will be," he retorted looking over his shoulder and dropping some clothes on the bed.

"What makes you so sure of that?" I questioned.

"I'm just sure…" he said with a smirk.

"I really hate it when you smirk like that," I said.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said.

-A While Later-

"Well at least the garden is nice," I said to myself as I walked through the gardens behind the mansion. After Akai had left I needed to just get out of the mansion for a while; the others were exploring the inside, but to me it was just like any other mansion I had been in. "Oh, happy day, a hammock!" I said running over and laying down in a hammock that was tied to two perfect shady trees, "Now this, is the comfort of home."

'_Hey Krystal, hey Krystal, hey Krystal'_

I sighed and pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw Funny Bunny hopping around my screen as he said 'Hey Krystal'. "Did you call to give me advice on how to annoy 'Kaiba-boy'?" I asked, answering the phone.

"Of course not," my Uncle said with a chuckle, "Why on earth would I do that?"

_TO BE CONTINUED…  
_

* * *

_**Jewels: So…I hope you liked the chap. and I hope the descriptions of the other bachelorettes were okay :) I tried my best to figure out some good matches for Seto.**_


	3. Have Fun

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

"You would give advice on how to annoying Kaiba so that I can get voted off this proverbial island as soon as I possibly can," I replied, before turning and looking up at one of the windows behind me and seeing Kaiba looking down at me. He turned and moved away from the window and I shivered. "The media is bad enough, I don't need to be watched here too."

"The downfall of being a beautiful young woman," my Uncle said, "You look just like your mother, and I tell you that it's no secret how your mother caught my brother's eye."

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't making me feel better Uncle Max."

"Oh…was I thought that's what I was doing," he said with a chuckle.

"I don't want to be here," I groaned, "I want to be at home, sitting behind my desk working on my ideas for the second book while I'm waiting for the first one to come back from the publisher."

"Oh for heaven's sake Krystal, live a little," he said, "What ever happened to the girl who used to run around the castle with a smile on her face?"

I thought for a moment. After my parents were killed when I little I was raised by my Uncle Pegasus, but I've always called him Uncle Max since he goes by Maximillion. Due to this fact I spent a lot of time in the castle in "Duelist Kingdom". It was my stomping ground when I was little…I was the Queen of that castle, or so I thought. "I grew up…"

"There's always a little room for fun," he said, "There's always room to put down the computer, pen, or pencil and live a little."

"Says the man who spent his days painting new Duel Monsters," I said.

"But I always made time for the little Queen of the castle," he said and I knew he had a smile of his face.

"The 'Queen' isn't so little anymore," I said, sadly, "And I don't know if I can have fun with this."

He laughed. "I'm sure you can."

"Sure…" I replied, "I've got to go."

"Alright…remember, don't look down on this, have fun," he said before hanging up.

My phone beeped as the call ended and I just stared at it. _'How the hell am I supposed to have fun with something I don't even want to be doing?'_

-Dinner-

_Silence_

Normally I hated silence, and as myself, the other girls, and the Kaiba brothers (surprisingly Seto made it home for dinner) sat at the long dining table, there was complete silence.

"Um…Krystal, I've read your books," Akiko commented, trying to break the ice, "I really enjoyed them."

I looked up from the soup that I had been pushing around and gave a half-hearted smile. "Thank you…and I liked your spring collection last year," I said, "I actually bought a dress from it."

"Really? Which one?" she questioned happily.

"The blue sundress with purple flowers," I replied, "I wore it to a family reunion."

"Did it go over well?" she asked, "I bet it looked beautiful on you."

"Yeah…it was a very small reunion," I said, "Everyone loved it." _'Everyone being Uncle Max…'_ I thought.

"That's wonderful," she said.

"I bought almost your whole summer collection," Casey Lee interjected, "That whole summer I was the best dressed model in New York…though that's nothing new."

'_I bet your conceited attitude isn't anything new either,'_ I thought, looking back at soup and completely ignoring the conversation that ensued about fashion and Akiko's past and possible future collections.

"So Krystal…what's your favorite style?" one of the girls asked suddenly.

"Hmmm?" I asked looking up to see all eyes were on me, "Oh um…comfy, casual I guess. I'm always writing so when I'm in my house I don't get too fancy with my outfits."

"What if the paparazzi decided to spy over the fence or something?" Casey Lee asked.

"So they'll catch me in a pair of short and a tank top, maybe even a pair of sweats," I replied, "I do wear makeup and fix my hair. I don't look like a hobo or anything like that, it's just when I'm in my house and not going anywhere I don't see the point of wearing a six thousand dollar dress. Hell, I don't even spend six thousand dollars on a dress."

Casey Lee's mouth was open in complete shock and I heard chuckles from down at the end of the table and I looked out of the corner of my eye to see both the Kaiba brothers trying not to laugh.

"If you don't look your best at all times the public could criticize you," Sarah said.

"Do you know how many pairs of heels I would go through in a week if I were to wear them around my mansion?" I questioned, "I pace up and down the stairs when I'm trying to come up with ideas and tweak ideas. I don't need no damn stair master to keep my ass in shape."

"So you're saying you would rather walk around looking like a slob rather than look like an actual public figure like the rest of us?" Casey Lee asked, that snarky tone rising in her voice again.

"No…" I retorted, "I'm saying maybe you should trying walking up and down the stairs rather than making yourself sick after every meal."

"You bitch!" she snapped, standing up so fast she knocked over her chair.

"Sit down!" Kaiba snapped and we all looked down at the end of the table at him, "Casey Lee…sit down. Krystal, maybe you should finish your dinner in your room."

"Oooooooh scary, Seto Kaiba's sending me to my room…what shall I do?" I said dramatically, as I grabbed my soup and left the dining room. _'Too bad he gave me exactly what I wanted.'_

As I sat in my room to eat I decided to watch some TV, sadly the news was all that was on, but it was better than nothing. Once I was done with my dinner though, the news wasn't that appealing anymore…so I walked over to my door and peaked out. I could hear that dinner was still going on and figure I was not getting dessert (leave it to Kaiba to "ground" me and take away dessert), so I figured that I would go find the library.

The library was easy enough to find, due to the fact that all I had to do was go around the corner and the door to it was open. The library was huge, but sadly it was only half the size of the one at Duel Kingdom…but though this library was smaller, there was a variety of books.

"I haven't read this book in a long time," I said pulling an older looking book out of book case.

"Didn't I send you to your room," Kaiba said, startling me.

"Oh I'm sorry," I said sarcastically, "I didn't hear the part of the rules where you got to control every aspect of my life."

"I sent you to your room because I didn't need a cat fight to start during dinner," he said.

"You and Mokuba seemed to have found it funny for a minute there," I retorted.

"Until things got a little too serious," he said.

I burst out laughing. "Things…too serious for you? You're kidding right?" He just stood there with that fowl expression on his face and I stopped laughing. "Think of it this way Kaiba…life is like a game of Duel Monsters, we all make certain moves and our lives can go one way or the other," I said, dumbing things down, "What happened between Casey Lee and I, that's just like one of those nitpicky moves that hits someone right where it hurts."

"You find this all as a game?" he questioned.

"We're being eliminated one-by-one," I said, flatly, "Yes…it's a game. Like a bad version of Duelist Kingdom."

"What about Duelist Kingdom?" he asked lowly.

"Nothing…" I said putting the book back where it belonged, "So I take it I'm eliminated because of my bad attitude?"

"That would be a reward for you," he said, "I can tell you don't want to be here…so I'll make you suffer a bit longer, good night Miss McKinley."

"You asshole!" I yelled, only to his laughter echo down the hall.

* * *

_**Jewels: WOOO! Two chapters in one day! Go me! Hope you liked the chap!**_


	4. Lunch Interview

_**Jewels: Hmmm…haven't gotten many reviews yet. Oh well, onward! I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

"Krystal, something major is about to happen today," Valerie said walking into the dining room.

"Does it affect me?" I asked, not looking up from my papers.

"Yeah, I would think so," she said.

"That wasn't a positive answer, whatever it is, keep it to yourself and leave me alone," I said.

"But look…" she said setting a piece of paper on with a lunch invite for all of us in front of me.

"Wow, lunch…I've never had that before," I said, moving the paper out of my way, "He's probably going to sit behind his desk and basically interview as we eat since he's a drone that only uses batteries."

"What is your problem?" she asked, "This is Seto Kaiba…you should be happy."

"Valerie…let me give a word of advice," I said, pointing to the chair across from me. She sat and she stared at me. "I know Seto Kaiba's type…he's a business man who only cares about business at this point. My Father, rest his soul, was the same and my Uncle _is _the same…and I'm guessing at times your father could be the same way." She gave a frown, she knew I was right and deep down she hated that. "And Kaiba…well I know for sure that he's not doing this because he wants too."

"What?" she said.

"Mokuba is pulling the strings," I said, "I bet Kaiba would rather be stuck in his office _alone _rather than talking to us…but Mokuba talked him into this whole thing so that his brother doesn't end up alone. Hell, my manager pushed me into this because he thinks if I don't get out and socialize I might end up alone."

"So this is all…" she started.

"Mokuba's idea," I replied.

"So I fixed my makeup, did my hair, and picked out this outfit for something that will _never_ happen?" she asked getting teary eyed.

"Aw sweetie, I never said _nothing_ would happen," I said, "I just said he wanted nothing to do with all this."

She burst into tears and ran out of the room and just shook my head.

"You are one vindictive bitch," I heard from my computer.

"How long have you been listening?" I questioned, switching screens and seeing Akai.

"Long enough," he replied.

"So what's the word hummingbird?" I asked, chuckling.

"They don't like it…" he said cautiously.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair. "They don't like the new book."

"Well you can tell them to-."

"Okay, before you get carried away…they said they liked the old style detective story that you're going for, but they're not crazy about the werewolf part."

"What's not to get? By day Joseph Anderson is one of London's most respected Detectives, but when the full moon comes he's a savage beast…"

"They said no werewolves…Jenna Bernard got the werewolf gig first."

"Jenna…" I growled.

"Krystal…don't lose it okay, like I said, they still like the old school detective thing," he said trying to calm me down.

"Don't lose it?!" I yelled, "You try working on a book for six months and then being told that the publishers don't like it! I can't even go talk to them because I'm stuck here, and to top it off I have to have lunch with Mr. Bossy Pants!"

"Things will be okay…just revise things like you always do," he said before signing off.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled.

-Lunch-

"Are you going to sit?" Kaiba asked.

"No," I replied, sourly staring out the large window of Kaiba's office at Kaiba Corp.

"Is something wrong?" he questioned.

"Everything is wrong…wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, _wrong_!" I replied.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, "Sit…eat."

"I am not a damn dog, don't tell me what to do!" I yelled looking over my shoulder at him.

He smirked. "There's no need to yell."

"No need…no need to yell?" I questioned, walking away from the window, "My new book was just denied by the publisher because one of my competitors who uses the same publisher got to the werewolf idea first."

"That must piss you off," he said.

I stopped and shook my finger at him. "You like doing this…you like pissing me off, you like making me angry."

"I heard that it takes a lot to make you angry…except in high stress situations," he said, "Such as this…you just turned in a new book and you got thrown into this competition. That's a lot of stress…"

"You're testing me right now?" I questioned.

He chuckled, finally turning away from his computer. "The other girls are used to all this wining and dining crap…let's face it Miss McKinley, from what I hear, you're a hermit."

"You're one to talk Mr. Do-Not-Interrupt-Me-While-I'm-Working," I retorted, "You're here in your office all day so you can't say much…Office Hermit."

"Touché," he said, standing up.

It was silent as he walked towards the window. I hadn't noticed until that moment that instead of his usual white suit or purple duster, he was going for something different and was wearing a black pin stripe suit, dark blue shirt, and black tie. And I hated to admit it, and mentally slapped myself for this, but he looked good.

'_How could I ever even think that?'_ I thought, rubbing my temples. Don't get me wrong, Kaiba was by no means ugly…but I had never found him attractive before (maybe its because I just didn't really pay THAT close attention to his looks).

"While you're here I have to ask you a couple of questions," he said, finally breaking the silence that was only awkward to myself.

"Fine," I said.

"What's your view on Duel Monsters?" he asked, "I know you were drawing those…Toon Monsters…but that doesn't mean much."

"I don't play…" I started, trying to quickly think of a way to skate around this question, "But I guess you could say that even with my busy schedule, I'm en enthusiast of the game; I pay attention to player stats, watch duels on TV, and I've even got to watch duels live."

He rubbed his chin in thought. "Who's your favorite duelist?"

"Nice try Kaiba, but I don't have a favorite," I lied.

"Favorite food?"

"Italian…more specifically a baby kale salad with artichokes, chickpeas, and prosciutto crisps."

"Hmmm…color?"

"Green."

"Animal?"

"Tiger."

"Family?"

"I don't want to talk about that…"

He looked at me and then nodded towards the door. "You can go."

"That's it?" I asked.

"That's it…" he replied.

"Ok then…" I said, before leaving the office.

-Later-

"You're in my sun," I said to Akai as he stood in front of the pool chair that I was currently laying in.

"Why does it not surprise me that you're already getting started on a new idea?" he questioned, looking at the papers in my lap.

"If I don't Jenna will-," I started only to get off.

"Forget about Jenna," Akai said, "For pete's sake she has nothing on you, her writing skills are mediocre at best."

"That doesn't matter, she was still a step ahead of me," I said, sourly.

CASEY LEE'S POV

"I don't see what you're worried about, Casey," Alanna said, as we stood looking out the window that over looked the pool, "She obviously doesn't even want to be here and think about it…Seto Kaiba President of Kaiba Corp and Krystal McKinley, Writer. Does that sound right to you? She won't win."

"I don't know if you notice, but today she was in his office the longest," I said, "There's obviously something about her that caught his eye at the dinner and now…she may act like she doesn't want to be here, but I'm sure she actually does."

"Casey…I don't think-," she started, but I cut her off.

"Don't be fooled by her," I sneered, "She writes stories for a living…she knows how to lie."

KRYSTAL'S POV

"I heard that you had a meeting with Mr. Kaiba," Akai said.

"Yes…" I said with a nod.

"How'd that go?" he questioned, trying to innocently pry.

"As well as it could…I had to skate around certain questions," I replied.

"Duel Monsters and family?" he asked.

"Yes…" I said, quietly.

"Miss McKinley…" we heard someone say.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Roland. "What?"

"Mr. Kaiba would like to see you and the rest of the bachelorettes by the grand staircase," he said.

I looked at Akai and shrugged my shoulders. "Only the first full day here and already someone didn't make a very good impression."

_TO BE CONTINUED…  
_

* * *

_**Jewels: Who will be eliminated? Stay tuned to find out!**_


	5. Elimination 1

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

"I have to say…I'm slightly disappointed," Kaiba said, as he stood at the top of the stairs, "Even though none of this was my idea, since I'm going along with it, I chose six women who seem to have impressive…I guess you could say…résumés. But even though it is only the first day, after today's lunch, I have decided that one of you has to go…because I was not impressed."

I looked to my left at the others and they were standing there looking completely nervous, though Casey Lee seemed to be less nervous than the others…

"Miss Hayashi…you are eliminated," Seto said, expressionless, "Though your background as the Heiress to the Hayashi Accounting Company is impressive, your lack of knowledge and interest in the game of Duel Monsters is not. If I had known this information before hand, I would not have invited you."

'_A bit harsh, but understandable…Kaiba's company is based around Duel Monsters,'_ I thought, as Valerie went running out of the room crying.

"Mr. Kaiba, if you don't mind me asking…who impressed you the most?" Casey Lee asked.

I rolled my eyes and then looked up at Kaiba who had his usual scowl on.

"I don't think you want to know that," he replied, "But I will tell you…that it wasn't you."

I heard laughter from behind me and looked over my shoulder and saw Akai who was unsuccessfully hiding his laughter.

"Put a muzzle on that dog of yours," Casey Lee sneered, getting in my face.

"Dog?" I questioned, looking at her and then back at Akai, "He reminds me more of a cat…and don't take it out of him just because you didn't get the answer that you wanted." I turned and walked out of the room followed by Akai.

"I remind of a cat, eh?" he questioned.

"Well you do have the qualities of one at times," I replied.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said.

"You should…" I said.

He just shook his head and gave a slight chuckle "Well I'm going to go…I want you to be good and not worry about the book right now."

"But I have to worry…"

"Don't…think of this as a vacation, only with competitive rules attached."

"This isn't a vacation…a vacation has margaritas and an ocean view," I said as he started to walk away, "This is a hell of perfume and hairspray. I won't be surprised if we all spontaneously combust."

"You'll make the best of it, Krystal…you always do," he said walking out the door.

'_Ass…'_ I thought, crossing my arms.

SETO'S POV

"So who did impress you the most?" Mokuba questioned, following me into my office.

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"No…I was just wondering," he replied.

"Why?" I asked.

"It takes a lot for someone to impress you bro," he replied, crossing his arms, "And if one of the girls _impressed_ you…they're already on the right track."

"Let's get one thing straight, 'impressed' was the word Miss Howard used…not me," I said, putting Valerie Hayashi's picture in the trash, "But Miss McKinley…she's the only one out of all them with the most knowledge of Duel Monsters." I picked up the picture of Krystal and looked at it. There was something so familiar about her…but I couldn't place it. "There's something different about her…" I said, "Dig more into her background and see what you can find."

"She knows a lot about Duel Monsters and you want me to dig deeper into her background?" Mokuba questioned with a blank face.

"Yes," I replied flatly, "And don't ask questions…just do it."

"Whatever…" he agreed before leaving the office.

'_There's something so familiar about her…'_ I thought before tossing the picture with the others and turning to my computer.

-A Couple Days Later-

KRYSTAL'S POV

"I will _never_ tell Akai he was right," I said, flopping on the bed. Over the past couple of days I had tried my best to take things easy, forget about my new book, forget about Jenna, forget about…everything. I just needed a vacation, and so far going with that was working.

"THOSE ARE MY SHOES!" I heard from the hall.

Except for that…the only thing that wasn't like a vacation was listening to the other girls bicker and fawn over Kaiba. Luckily if things got bad I could just lock myself away in my room and hope that sooner or later Kaiba would give me the boot.

"GIVE THEM BACK THEY'RE MINE!" I heard.

'_Just close your eyes Krystal, drown them out,' _I thought closing my eyes.

DREAM

"_We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now, and tried to reach beyond the emptiness, but neither one knew how. We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to time, reliving in our eloquence, another 'auld lang syne'…_" I sang as I sat in front of the grand piano in the Duelist Kingdom Castle, my feet not even close to touching the floor.

"That was beautiful," I heard, stopping my playing and turning to see Uncle Max standing in the doorway clapping.

"You really think so Uncle Max?" I asked.

He smiled. "Your Aunt Cecelia could hear you from the room and she thought it was magnificent as well."

I frowned. "How is she today?"

"Now well dear," he said walking over and patting the top of my head, "But if you continue your beautiful music I'm sure it will make her much better…better than any medicine ever could."

"You really think so?" I questioned.

A reassuring smile appeared on his face. "Yes I think so…"

I smiled and turned back to the piano. "Then I'll play the best that I can!"

* * *

"Uncle Max we shouldn't follow him!" I said pulling on the back of his shirt as he tried to follow a strange man.

"Stop Krystal," he said grabbing my hands as we walked down a staircase, "He may have the answers that we need."

"But he said we wouldn't find them here," I said, pulling back.

"I'm sure that's not what he meant," he said.

We got to the bottom of the stairs and the strange man turned and looked at us. "I told you, you would not find what you are looking for here…now I will test you to see if you can stand the test of a Millennium Item."

At the man came towards Uncle Max with a gold object in his hands other men grabbed myself and Uncle Max, separating us.

"Uncle Max!" I screamed.

"Let her go!" he yelled.

"Only if you pass the test will you and the girl be freed," the man said, placing the gold object up to Uncle Max's left eye.

"UNCLE MAX!" I screamed as he let out a bloody curdling yell.

END OF DREAM

I sat straight up and looked around the now dark room. "It was just a dream."

The day that my uncle got the Millennium was one of the worst days of my life…and even now that that thing is good and gone, it still haunts me.

_TO BE CONTINUED...  
_

* * *

_**Jewels: Okay folks, I'm leaving it there. Got any predictions on what Krystal's is gonna do to come and bite her in the butt? Review and let me know, or you could let me know via facebook :)**_


	6. Turn To The Moon

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

"Ladies, welcome to Kaiba Land!" Mokuba greeted us as we all stopped just inside the entrance of Kaiba Land.

'_Today is going to be just horrible…I know it,'_ I thought. Between my lack of sleep and trying to come up with ideas for my new book (after all my nightmares the 'vacation' thing just wasn't happening), I was completely beat, and sad thing was…I didn't dare close my eyes.

"As you all know, this week is Music Week in Domino City; a week where up and coming music talent of all kinds show their stuff," Mokuba began, "In light of that Kaiba Land is show casing several different music artists this week around the park and today we want to see what kind of music you like."

'_I can handle this challenge,'_ I thought, _'Sounds relaxing.'_

"While we did bring you here to listen to music, it is still an amusement park…feel free to ride the rides, shop, and dine wherever you feel here," Mokuba said, "Have fun…and we'll be watching."

'_Cause that doesn't sound creepy at all,'_ I thought as myself and the others split up.

I began making my way down a walkway with restaurants and shops lining either side. As I walked I listened and could hear several different types of music coming from the different restaurants. I stopped when I reached a small restaurant that I could hear Irish Pub/Jig type music coming out of. I've always enjoyed the sound of violins, so I decided to go in, sit in the back, and enjoy the music.

As I sat there my eyelids started to get heavy and sadly I started to close my eyes.

SETO'S POV

"You know, you could at least pay attention to the monitor," Mokuba said.

"This may surprise you Mokuba, but I have work to do," I said, trying my best to ignore him. He had informed me earlier in the day that he would be letting the girls roam Kaiba Land to listen to music and he wanted me to pay attention to their music choices.

"I'm sure you'll find their music choices interesting," he said.

"I'm sure they all have…lovely…tastes in music," I said sourly.

Suddenly there was a file in between myself and my computer screen. "I found that information that you wanted on Krystal…"

I went to grab it but he pulled it away. "Mokuba…give me that file."

He smirked and held it over the shredder. "I learned from the best Seto…just pay attention to the monitor, or the file gets it."

I gave a low growl and looked at the file in his hand. I didn't know why I wanted to see that information so badly…but there was just something so familiar about Krystal besides her being the author of those books. "You win, Mokuba…this time."

"Figured as much…" he said giving a slight smile.

I looked at the monitor that was set up on the other end of my desk. "They've all gone for up-beat music...except for Krystal…is she asleep?"

Mokuba walked over and looked at the monitor. "Look at that, she is," he said, "Looks like she's in one of the restaurants listening to 'Pub Music'…or she was before she fell asleep."

"And you think I'm the one not serious about this competition," I remarked, before snatching the file from him.

"She's paying more attention than you are," he mumbled.

"Half of this is classified…" I said flipping through the file.

Mokuba sighed and leaned against the desk. "I tried getting the "unclassified" version, but I got rejected…all I found was that she's an only child who went to live with an unnamed uncle after her parents were killed in a car crash that she was the only survivor in. Also I couldn't find what the 'C' stands for in K.C. McKinley, all I could find was Krystal McKinley."

I tossed the file aside and sighed. "Probably just part of her penname that she uses."

"What's bugging you bro?" he questioned.

I looked back at the monitor "I've met her before…it's just…I don't know where or when; it's almost…fuzzy."

"Hmmm…uh oh, I think I know your next candidate to go next…"

I looked at the upper corner of the screen and scowled. "I hate Rock music."

SARAH'S POV

"I have to say, that was quite lovely," Casey Lee said, as we entered the mansion after spending most of the day at Kaiba Land.

"Yes it was," I agreed, holding the stuffed Kuriboh that I won at the dart throwing game closer to my chest, "Even though it was challenge, it was nice to get out and just kind of enjoy a day at an amusement park…I haven't done that since I was little."

She turned with her hands on her hips and looked down at me with a stern look. "This was not a day for fun."

"We were told to enjoy-"

"Do you really think Mokuba Kaiba was serious when he told us to enjoy ourselves?" she questioned, cutting me off, "You know for the owner of The Miller Medical Group you are still a naïve little 21 year old."

"Casey Lee, stop," Alanna interjected, but Casey Lee just blew her off.

"When Mokuba told us that they wanted to see what kind of music that we liked that's what we had to focus on," she said, before grabbing my Kuriboh out of my arms, "Not playing silly little carnival games!" She threw the Kuriboh on the ground and dug her heel into it. "Or…" she stopped as we watched a security guard walk passed carrying a sleeping Krystal, "Taking naps."

"She hasn't slept days," I said, "Just back off Casey Lee…you can be a bitch all you want but…" I reached down and pulled the Kuriboh out from under her foot and dusted it off. "I work all the time and this was a day that I got to have fun…and I did. And just leave Krystal alone for once…she needs some sleep." I walked away leaving everyone standing there; I didn't care what they thought…I didn't care what Casey Lee thought. I had fun.

KRYSTAL'S POV

"NO YOU CAN'T!" I screamed sitting straight up. I looked around and realized I was back at the mansion. _'I fell asleep at the restaurant,'_ I thought, running my hand over my face.

I got out of bed, grabbed my phone, and went and sat out on my balcony. It was dark out; sadly the moon was being hidden by the clouds so I sat there searching for Akai's number, I was alone…at least that's what it felt like.

That was one thing that I always remembered about my Aunt Cecelia, she taught me about the stars and the moon and she told me that at night…if I ever felt lonely or scared or needed that little light in the darkness.

"_Turn to the moon…"_

That's what she always said. But now when nightmares of past events haunted my dreams, that one light I thought I could turn to, hid from me.

"Hello?" Akai asked groggily answering his phone.

"You have to get me out of here, Akai…please," I pleaded.

"Krystal…what's wrong?" he asked.

"I can't tell you here…please just get me out of here," I begged.

"But-," he started.

"Please…" I said again.

_TO BE CONTINUED…  
_

* * *

_**Jewels: Well…what will come of these nightmares? And who will be eliminated next? You'll just have to wait and see now won't you...**_


	7. Elimination 2

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

"You met Kaiba, before the ball?" Akai asked, as we sat in the corner of a coffee shop.

"Do you remember when I told you that you were not only my manager, but my best friend, and I wanted to tell you something that I had never told anyone else about?" I questioned.

"The fact that your uncle had a Millennium Item…the Millennium Eye to be exact," he replied.

I nodded. "When I started writing my first book, I decided that I had to get away from that city…all the noise was just too much for me to concentrate with, so I went back to the place that I felt was my real home; the island that is now known as Duelist Kingdom."

He chuckled. "Ah yes…you've told me many stories about the castle there."

I sighed. "What I didn't know was that when the helicopter landed, I gotten there right as the Duelist Kingdom Tournament had started." I stopped and closed my eyes remembering when I hopped out of the helicopter and saw all the duelists starting there duels for star chips. "I wanted nothing to do with any of it…but of course Uncle Max had to set up a monitor in my room so that I could watch the finals. I didn't argue…I didn't want to cause problems…but now, I wish I had." I stopped and looked out the window.

"What happened Krystal?" Akai asked, "This isn't like you."

"I saw him take Kaiba's soul," I said, looking back at him, "That's what his Millennium Eye was able to do." He sat there completely dumbfounded by what I had just said, and hey, I didn't blame him one bit. "I know what you're thinking…and I didn't believe it at first either, but I snuck down to the catacombs and was able to distract the guards long enough to go see for myself…I managed to get through the cell bars and I got face to face with Kaiba. There was no life him his eyes…he didn't answer any of my questions, he was just an empty shell."

"I'm so sorry Krystal," he said, "If I had known all this I wouldn't have made you go to the ball at all."

"I didn't really remember until I got face to face to him again at the ball," I said shaking my head, "I even though it was only five years ago, I tried so hard to hide that memory deep in the back of my mind. You couldn't have known…"

-Back at the Mansion-

"What did I miss?" I asked, looking at the butler that was pulling suitcases out of the mansion.

"I've been eliminated," Alanna said, with a little shrug of her shoulders, "No big deal."

"How come you were eliminated?" I questioned, "I mean…I fell asleep yesterday."

"I like Rock music," she replied, "Mr. Kaiba attributes that to heavy drinkers and no good doers."

"Are you?" I questioned.

"I like a drink every now and then," she replied as she headed towards the door, "I just like the beat of Rock better." The door closed behind her and I heard a scoff and looked over at Casey Lee who was sitting on the couch, arms and legs crossed with a look on her face like she had just smelled something fowl.

"Whatever it is…I'm not in the mood to hear it," I said starting to walk away. I seriously didn't need her attitude on top of everything else.

"Well you're going to hear it anyway," she said following me.

"Lovely," I said stopping.

"It should have been you or that naïve little Sarah that went home…not Alanna. I don't know what it is about you that is keeping you here, because on the surface, I don't see it, and the way you act..." She stopped to look me up and down, before giving another fowl look. "It's despicable. A writer? What is so special about a writer? You keep yourself locked away in a fictional world…a man like Seto Kaiba needs reality."

It was my turn to look her up and down. "I didn't know fake boobs, a tummy tuck, botox, a nose job were reality." Her jaw dropped slightly as I walked around her, she wasn't expecting that one, but if you're gonna talk about something like reality…think about the karma.

After all this, I needed a break from the world. But obviously that wasn't going to happen since I ran into someone else on my way to my room.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," they said, starting to pick up the items that had fallen out of their arms.

"It's okay…I wasn't paying…these are my books," I commented, picking up one of the books.

The person immediately stood up to look at me revealing a girl with brown hair and bright blue eyes. "You're…you're K.C. McKinley," she said.

I turned over the book in my hand and smiled slightly. "That's what the back cover says."

"Mokuba said you were here but…I didn't think I would actually run into you," she said with a sparkle in her eyes.

I thought back to the ball and then gave an amused chuckle. "You must be Mokuba's girlfriend. I heard from Mr. Kaiba that you're a fan of mine."

"You have no idea," she said, "Your books are amazing. The stories of Lauren Michaels CIA/FBI covert ops agent who travels the world fighting those who threaten the safety of the United States and even her own family, while she also tries to juggle a family life and…a passionate love life with a man who would make any woman's head spin and heart flutter."

I rubbed the back of my head. "I guess you are a fan."

She nodded. "I can't wait until your next series comes out…you're sticking to what you know and not jumping to anything to different right? I hate when authors do that…I heard that Jenna Bernard is going from her Military Romance to some werewolf thing and that's just stupid."

I turned my head and thought for a minute as she continued talking. _'She's right…I've been going about this all wrong. I need to stick with what I know. Stepping to out of the box will only turn my readers off…I don't necessarily need to go with the covert ops theme, but something along those lines is what I need to stick with." _I looked back at her and smiled. "You were a lot of help…thank you."

"I was?" she questioned as I started to walk away.

"Yes, you were!" I replied, heading to my room and closing the door. _'I've just got to forget about this whole Kaiba thing for a little while…I've got a new idea and now I need to get it started.'_

-A Couple Days Later-

"How are you feeling?" Akai asked, as he sat across from me at table that was set up in the garden.

"Better," I said, not looking up from my laptop.

"That was a lie," he said reaching for a platter on the table only to get his hand slapped away.

"Don't touch the gorgonzola cheese," I said, "You could have called instead of stopping by…the other girls are going to start believing that I need a babysitter."

"A foul mood…you're working on your book," he said.

"Just because I'm in a bad mood doesn't mean-."

"You get in a foul mood when someone bother's you when you're writing," he said.

I stopped typing and looked up at him. "I got some inspiration and a new idea…I'm going to stick with what I know."

He just shook his head. "I'll let you be then…send me the first chapter later."

He left and I sat back in my chair. When I did that I noticed Kaiba pacing back and forward past his office window, looking through a stack of papers in his hands. _'Hmmm…that gives me an idea.'_

_TO BE CONTINUED…  
_

* * *

_**Jewels: Well this was interesting now wasn't it? Stay tuned for the next chap!**_


	8. 10,000 Dollar Incentive

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**_

_**Note: For new readers I have a Facebook page! You can find the link to my Facebook page on my Fanfiction profile. Also I always like to get opinions and ideas from readers, so I would like you to send me what you would think would make a good elimination challenge. Send your idea in a review, PM, or post it to my FB page!  
**_

* * *

"I didn't realize that this was an office," Casey Lee commented.

I looked up from my laptop that was sitting in front of me at the dining room table and realized I wasn't the only one working that evening. Sarah, who I had noticed had been trying her best to avoid her work during her time at the Kaiba mansion was also at her laptop. Akiko, had what I was guessing was her "Look Book" (a fashion designer's book that has all the ideas/designs for an upcoming collection) in front of her and some fabric swatches as well. Down at the head of the table the Kaiba brothers also had laptops and papers in front of them.

That left Casey Lee without a thing to do…

"I'm sorry…would you like something to do?" I questioned, with a hint of amusement in my voice, "I'm sure one of us could find something for you to copy if you feel that left out."

She was about to retort, but was cut off by Kaiba. "Miss Howard, Miss McKinley…don't start," he said.

I looked down at the end of the table and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach, making me immediately look away. _'His eyes…I can't even look at him now without remembering how lifeless they were that day. Why did that memory…that nightmare have to come back all of a sudden?'_

"I was just taught that the dinner table was a place to eat, not work…that's all," Casey Lee said.

"You obviously never had to run a company," I heard Sarah mumble.

Casey Lee shot her a glare and both Akiko and I did our best to hide laughter. She had a point; all Casey Lee ever had to do was smile for the camera and look her best…everyone does all the thinking for her. While on the other hand, the rest of us actually put as much effort into life as the rest of us. Sure looking into all of our backgrounds we've lived…privileged lives…but we haven't all been spoon fed throughout our lives.

"I may not run a company…" Casey Lee started, and I just sighed.

'_Here comes the ass kissing,'_ I thought, seeing the fake politeness crawl onto her face.

"But, like I said…I was taught that the dinner table is a place to eat, not work. And I know I've been a bitch, but dinner should be a time to talk, not fight or work," she finished.

I heard a pen clicking towards the head of the table, but I didn't dare look in that direction. "You may be right about that…the dinner table is a place to talk," Kaiba started, "But sometimes you have to make exceptions to the rules…especially when it comes to your financial income. We don't all try on clothes for a living Miss Howard, do remember that before you open your trap."

It got deathly silent as he finished his sentence; he wasn't amused by _anything_ that Casey Lee had just said, and apparently he wasn't in the mood for any ass kissing.

The silence continued for a few minutes before Kaiba cleared his throat. "There

are only four of you left in this competition, and though that may not seem like

much of a difference from the six that started here, things will start to change. As the days go by your true colors will start to show...and I don't mean true colors in the way of petty fights over the possession of clothing." He stopped and looked at Casey Lee and Akiko who sank back in their chairs slightly. "When I say your true colors are going to start to show, I mean that you will do anything to try and win this competition; you will start to use what you know and have to your advantage...that could be anything from gossip and lies about the other women around you or you will start trying to use your

beauty even more to your advantage."

I looked down at the end of the head of the table and saw the seriousness on his face. His eyes, unlike that of my memory were so focused as he basically stared each and every one of us.

"Though I wanted no part of this competition, as you know I am a duelist and as such I love a good fight to the finish...I've thought this through and whoever wins will not only win a date with me, but they will also win $10,000," Seto said, sitting back in his chair with a smirk.

"Seto!" Mokuba said, "That's not what this is all about!"

"Everyone likes a little further incentive," Seto replied.

I looked at the girls and saw that Sarah was shaking her head, Akiko looked unfazed by the incentive, and Casey Lee...well she practically had dollar signs in her eyes.

_'This is not what I needed,'_ I thought.

-The Next Day-

_Knock, knock, knock_

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," I said, walking towards the bedroom door as I wrapped

my night robe tighter around me.

"Good morning, Krystal," Casey Lee said once I opened the door.

"Good morning, Casey Lee. And what do owe this displeasure?" I questioned.

Her eye started to twitch as she was obviously trying to stay calm. "Well I was

wondering...if you would like to join myself and the others for a shopping trip.

A girls' day out so to speak."

I let out a laugh. "There's only one reason why you want to have a 'girls' day out'…you're hoping that someone says or does something that you can throw back in their face so that you have that much more of an advantage."

"I wouldn't do that," she said, trying to look insulted.

"Yes you would…because you're that much of a vindictive bitch," I snapped, "But I'm gonna go, just so I can keep an eye on you." I slammed the door in her face before heading over to my suitcase and pulling out a cute light blue and purple sundress with matching flats. "I can look good if I want," I said looking at myself one last time before leaving the room and heading down the hall.

As I headed down the hall, I was checking my messages from Akai since he had me a mass amount of messages when, once again, I ran into someone. "I'm sorry," I apologized not looking up at the person.

"You should watch where you're going next time," a deep familiar voice.

I slowly looked up and Kaiba was looking down at me with a tired, but stern expression on his face.

"I…I…" I started, trying to look away from him.

"You're lost for words?" he questioned.

"I'll watch where I'm going next time…" I said, taking a step back.

He walked past me and I sighed. Every time I saw him now, all I could think about was that day that Uncle Max took his soul.

"Hey, you going shopping too?" I heard someone ask, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Sarah all dressed up and ready for a day of shopping. "Yeah…but I'm just going to keep an eye on Casey Lee, she's up to no good."

"That's what the rest of us this too…it's just too coincidental that Kaiba throws in a 10,000 dollar incentive and she wants to be all "let's have a girls day out"," she said.

"I agree," I said.

"The others are waiting downstairs, are you ready to go?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," I replied before fallowing her downstairs.

_TO BE CONTINUED…  
_

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_**Jewels: I hope you liked chap!**_


	9. Get Out Of My Sight

_**Jewels: As usual…I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!  
**_

* * *

On the rare occasion that I did my own shopping, I usually enjoyed getting out and looking at clothes, perfumes, and jewelry (and Uncle Max would always tease me because, even though I had enough money to buy out any store I wanted, I always like shopping sale and clearance items). But today…was not a day to enjoy shopping.

As I looked through clothes racks I kept looking up at what Casey Lee was doing. It appeared that she was just shopping and trying to have a good time…she was picking out clothes for the other girls and getting opinions for herself, but she was being way to friendly.

"Krystal, this would look so cute on you," she walking over with a blue short sleeve shirt, "I think it will even show off a little bit of cleavage."

"Um…excuse me?" I said.

"Well…" she started, before getting that usual Casey Lee look back on her face, "You're a busty girl…"

I looked down at my DD and wrinkled my nose. "So?"

"It's not horrible to show them off a little bit…" she said.

'_Ah ha! I knew she was going somewhere with this!'_ I thought. "Well I hate to break it to you Casey Lee…just because I'm busty, doesn't mean I go around showing them off like they're some sort of accessory…when men talk to me, I'd rather them look at my face."

She scowled.

"It doesn't hurt to-," she started but I held up my hand.

"Yes it does…" I said, "If you have respect for yourself, other people will have respect for you."

She took a step back and looked me up and down. "They're the only asset you have anyway…" She turned and went to her own shopping.

'_Trying to pick out clothes for me that I wouldn't normally wear,'_ I thought, angrily looking through the rack in front of me, _'Sure I wear dresses or shirts that show a little cleavage sometimes, but…I knew she was up to something! She wants to make one of us look like a slut.'_

The rest of shopping was uneventful, well except for when Sarah slapped Casey Lee so hard that she was knocked back and landed flat on her ass (she's just about had enough of Casey Lee).

"Why are we at Kaiba Corp.?" Akiko asked as our limo pulled up outside of Kaiba Corp.

"That would be my doing," Sarah said, before getting out of the limo.

We followed her and headed to the top floor where Kaiba was waiting for us, looking highly annoyed that once again he was being interrupted at work.

"Are you sure about this?" Mokuba asked, looking at Sarah.

She nodded before turning to us. "Something has come up back at work, and something that I can't deal with via satellite…so, Krystal, Akiko…Casey Lee, good luck, and I hope to see each other again..." she stopped and looked at Casey Lee, "Except for you." After that she headed to the elevator and got in and waved as the doors closed.

"Well it looks like we can move the next elimination challenge to Saturday," Mokuba said. We looked at him and he gave a slight smile.

-Mansion-

"I don't want to be in the final three," I said to Akai as I laid on my bed staring at my computer upside down.

Akai sighed. "If I had known what had happed a few years ago, I would have never made that RSVP."

It was my turn to give a sigh. "It's alright…maybe in the off chance that I win, which I find highly unlikely, maybe I can make something right…I don't know how, but maybe I can."

"That's the Krystal I know…being all optimistic," he said with a smile, "Now what's this challenge?"

"Well from what Mokuba described, Seto is "graciously" taking time out of his busy schedule tomorrow to stay here at the mansion and throughout the day he will talk to us and observe us as we go on with our daily lives," I replied, "He wants us to do what we would normally do on a regular day if we were at home…that includes working."

"He wants to see the real you…interesting," he said.

"Not really…this is Seto Kaiba we're talking about," I said, "He's a business man and he's not going to go on a date or get into a relationship blindly, he's going to want to know every aspect of the woman he goes on the date with. That means background checks and close observation of her daily life so that he knows whether or not she's a hard worker like he is, because you know he's not going to be with someone who's lazy."

"It's going to be an interesting day isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah…it is," I said.

-The Next Day-

_A tall man with brown hair entered Kara's office and sat down in front of her desk. He wasn't like a usual client; a tailored suit, designer shoes, and a smug look that told her that he was a man of high importance. She had seen the type before when she worked for the FBI, she could spot that type from a mile away…_

"Do you have to stare?" I questioned, looking over my shoulder at Kaiba who was sitting in a chair not far behind me watching me work.

"Do you think I want to be sitting here doing nothing while you type away, writing your little romance novel?" he questioned.

"We're in a library," I said, motioning to all the books, "Find one to read."

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" he questioned getting closer to me.

'_Yes…'_ I thought, but was silent.

"Interesting…" he said before moving away and heading towards the exit and leaving me alone in the library.

'_Oh he has no idea how uncomfortable I am around him,'_ I thought, before going back to my computer.

-Later That Day-

I had spent most of the day in the library working on my "little romance novel" as Kaiba put it, and as per the challenge stated every once and a while he came to observe me (though he only spent about five minutes in the library at a time, most likely due to the fact that he realized that all I would be doing is writing).

By about four o'clock I felt kinda hungry so I decided that it was a good time to take a break. As I walked through the mansion I realized that it really was business as usual; passing the living room I saw Casey Lee in front of a white background screen, a photographer telling her to pose this was and that, and several makeup, hair, and outfit coordinators. In the dining room on the other hand, Akiko was surrounded by her assistants and designers that work for her and they were looking over sketches, and there were several mannequins and rolls of fabric.

'_Definitely business as usual,' _I thought before going to the kitchen, grabbing a snack, and heading back up the stairs. As I headed down the hallway I ran right into Kaiba.

"There you are," he said.

I stopped and looked at him. "Did you take a nap?" I questioned, not able to stop myself as I saw the mess that was normally his finely pressed suit.

He looked down. "Yes…not that's it's any of your concern," he said trying to straighten out his suit.

I sighed and set down my plate on the small hall table. "Here, let me help," I said, remembering all the times that my Uncle had fallen asleep in his suits. I reached out and smoothed out the shoulders of his suit and when I went to move towards his tie he had done the same thing and our hands touch.

We both froze and looked at each other before he suddenly grabbed his head like he was in pain.

"Kaiba? Are you okay?" I questioned.

After a minute he finally looked at me and when he did he had rage in his eyes, he then grabbed my arm firmly. "How do know Pegasus?" he growled.

"Kaiba, you're hurting me," I said, looking down at my arm.

"Answer me!" he snapped, his grip getting tighter, "How do you know you know Pegasus?!"

"He's my Uncle okay!" I said, my eyes starting to water, "I know what he did and I'm sorry!"

He pushed me back and I fell to the ground. "Get out of my sight, and get out of my mansion!"

I got up quickly and ran to my room, tears pouring down my face. He scared me…and the quicker I got away from him, the better.

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	10. I'm Sorry

_**Jewels: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!**_

* * *

AKAI'S POV

"Krystal!" I yelled running into her house, "Krystal where are you?" I heard a door close upstairs and ran up checking every room until I found Krystal in here room. "There you are, I…" I stopped when I saw all the papers all over the room, "What's all this?" I started to pick up the papers and looked at them.

"Can you believe it…I finished the book yesterday, worked all day and all through the night," she said with a shaky voice, "So I printed it out and was going to send it to you…but I decided to read it over first, the first ten chapters are great, but the rest…its horrible."

"So you got angry and threw the papers everywhere?" I questioned, "Krystal…what the hell happened yesterday?"

She put a hand on her arm and looked away from me. "He found out…"

"What?" I questioned.

"He…our hands touched and I guess he had some type of flashback or something, because next thing I knew he was yelling at me and…" she stopped and looked away.

I went and sat next to her on the bed. "Why are you hiding your arm?"

KRYSTAL'S POV

"I um…" I started and looked away from him. I didn't want to show him the hand print shaped bruise that had formed on my arm. He was my manager, but he always said that he always put our friendship first…and if he saw the bruise he would be pissed off.

"Krystal…" he said.

"He was just angry, and I lied to him and what Uncle Max did to him and Mokuba, stealing their souls and locking them away…he has every right to be angry, he didn't mean it," I said.

He quickly removed my hand from my arm and looked at it. "Why didn't you call me last night?" he questioned once he saw the bruise.

"I can handle it…I just wanted to get home," I replied, "And Kaiba wanted me out of his sight, and out of his mansion…so I came home. I'm fine though…"

He stood up and looked a little shocked. "Obviously you're not! You don't cry, and don't tell me you weren't because your eyes are red, you don't just throw things around, and you definitely don't second guess yourself!"

I got up and pushed him out of the way and made my way and made my way over to the window. "You just don't understand, Akai…you just can't."

It was quiet in the room for a moment before he finally spoke up. "I think I can…"

I looked over my shoulder at him and saw him looking at the papers he had picked up off the floor. "No…you can't…it's just too hard to explain-."

"He was only someone it hurt for you to look at because of what your Uncle did…but he was your muse…"

SETO'S POV

"So you eliminated Krystal?" Mokuba questioned.

"Not in so many words," I replied, leaning back in my chair and looking at her picture, "I more or less told her to get out of the mansion and out of my sight."

"What?!" Mokuba said, almost dropping his clipboard, "But according to my calculations she was most likely to win."

"She's related to Pegasus…"

"Come again?"

"The 'C' in K.C. McKinley, stands for Crawford…Krystal Crawford-McKinley, the unnamed Uncle that was mentioned in her file…is Pegasus."

"That's why she knows so much about Duel Monsters," he said, "Did you send you her home just because she was Pegasus's niece?"

"She was getting ready to help me fix my tie, and our hands touched and I had this vision…it was fuzzy, but I could tell where I was, I was that cell in the Duelist Kingdom dungeon and right in front of me was Krystal and she kept asking me questions, but I couldn't answer back."

"That was when Pegasus had our souls," Mokuba said, looking at the ground.

"He did not have our souls, Mokuba!" I snapped, "That's a bunch of hocus pocus…I don't know what he did, but he did not take our souls!"

"Well, whatever it was…what made you remember her?" he asked.

I closed my eyes. _'Soft brown eyes, I remember looking at me with such concern even though I was a complete stranger to her...and I remember that she touched my cheek, her hands are soft…' _I thought before opening my eyes. "I don't know Mokuba…" I replied.

"Do you want me to bring her back to the mansion?" he questioned.

"No…" I replied, "I'll go to her…after what I did, it'd be better that way."

KRYSTAL'S POV

"What?" I questioned.

"The business man that you have in this…Kara's client, is described exactly like Kaiba," Akai replied.

I took the papers from him and read over them. "Why on earth would I…"

"People get inspiration from strange places…and people," he replied.

_DING DONG_

Akai walked over to the window and looked out and a rare scowl crossed his face. "I'll go check it."

As he left the room I walked over to the window and looked out to see a limo with a KC license plate. "Akai! Don't do anything stupid!" I called, following him down the stairs.

He got to the door before I could stop him and he came face-to-face with Kaiba.

"I shouldn't say I'm surprised, cause I'm not," Kaiba said, looking at him.

Akai balled his fist. "You may be…" he stopped, not daring to tell Kaiba that he was my 'muse', "You have some nerve."

Kaiba was silent and just looked over Akai's shoulder at me, and believe it or not, his normal scowl was more of an apologetic look…or maybe at the time that was just my vulnerability.

"Let him in, Akai," I said, "He looks like he has something he needs to say to me."

"Let him in?! He hurt you!" Akai said.

Kaiba's eyes got wide and I looked away. "Just…let him in," I said.

Akai moved out of the way and Kaiba stepped into the house. "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

I looked from him to Akai and back again before nodding. "Let's go out to the garden."

I led him out to the back yard and looked around. The roses were in full bloom, the birds were chirping, and koi in the pond were swimming happily in the sunlight. If I wasn't in such a lousy mood, maybe I could even enjoy such a beautiful day.

"I'm sorry…"

I turned my head slowly and looked at Kaiba like he had ten heads. "Excuse me?"

"I came here today to apologize to you…my actions yesterday were inexcusable, and I injured you and I'm sorry," he said.

'_He actually means that…'_ I though still looking at him like he was nuts.

"I hope I didn't hurt you that bad," he said.

Instinctively I put my hand over my arm. "It's not that bad…"

He gently removed my hand from my arm and lifted up my sleeve and looked at the bruise, and after a minute of just staring at it he removed his hand, letting my sleeve fall back over the bruise.

"You were never eliminated from the competition," he said, trying to compose himself, "You may return to the mansion if you wish."

"That's not a good idea," I replied.

"I lost my temper yesterday and-," he started, but I held up my hand.

"Even if by some miracle I won, I don't know that I would want to be dating a man who's life if run by Duel Monsters," I said honestly, not knowing why I was starting to spill my guts to Kaiba of all people, "Uncle Max spent hours on end perfecting the game of Duel Monsters, painting the creatures, coming up with names, strategies, you name it he spent hours doing it and though he did spend time with me, I don't know how many times I was told "later", "not now", "don't bother me"."

He just stared me.

"I don't want that again…and if you chose me you would have to think, did you chose me just because I'm Pegasus's niece and this could be good business? I will not be a pawn in a game."

"I would never-."

"And let's face it Kaiba, your track record with woman…not great," I finished.

He let out a chuckle. "When you have something to say, you really do say it, don't you?"

"Well I-," I started, only to get cut off.

"No…my track record isn't great with women, want to know why? Because you're all too damn clingy… "Seto spend more time with me", "Seto we need to go out more", "Seto I cleared you schedule so that we could go out today", or you think I'm some sort of goddamn checkbook, "Seto buy me this", "Seto buy me that", "I want this", "I want that"…When I look in the mirror in the morning I don't see Kaiba First National Bank scrawled across my forehead."

It was my turn to just stare at him.

"I work a lot cause I have a business to run, I have made sacrifices like not being able to spend time with my little brother, but I can finally find time to spend with him, and I will make sure that whoever I choose never feels second rate…"

"Kaiba…"

"As for using you to get to Pegasus or Industrial Illusions…how low do you think of me?"

I looked away from him and it was quiet for a few minutes. "I'll uh…actually get dressed."

"Why?" he questioned.

"I guess since the air is clear I can go back to the mansion…" I replied, still a little dumbfounded about what transpired.

"Just…hurry," he said before looking at his watch, "I have a meeting in fifteen minutes so you'll have to wait at Kaiba Corp."

I sighed. "Lovely…I can reflect on this mess."

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

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_**Jewels: I hope you liked the chap!**_


End file.
